Downtown Houma is set to host the seventh annual Rougarou Fest presented by People’s Drugs Store on Saturday, October 20 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday, October 21 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Rougarou Fest is a family-friendly festival with a spooky flair that celebrates the rich folklore that exists along the bayous of Southeast Louisiana. It is also the primary fundraiser supporting the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center, a nonprofit organization that is revolutionizing how we think, teach, and learn about Louisiana’s disappearing coast.
  
The festival begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with the blessing of the grounds followed by children’s activities in the court square.  Activities include Pin the Tail on the Rougarou, the Lutin Bean Bag Toss, Crawfish Toss, face painting, mask making, and more. Wetlands awareness organizations will have stands set up around the square at this time and vendors will be selling hand-made items.

At the Rendez-vous des raconteurs: Storytelling Pavilion, everyone is invited to come share their stories en français ou en anglais (in French or English) about rougarou legends, ghost stories, or past Halloween celebrations. We’ll have the French table right next to it, where you can jaser avec le monde en français (have a chat in French) or practice your French.  Local residents who have lived to see the changes in the ways folklore and French are used in our society will hold a round-table discussion on Sunday entitled “L’avenir des souvenirs et des legends: What is the future of legends and French traditions in South Louisiana?”

You can also try your luck at our 13 PENNIES SCAVENGER HUNT to see if you can outsmart the Rougarou! It’s a good thing the Rougarou can’t count past 12, but you’ll have to find all 13 clues if you want to survive! Stop by the 13 PENNIES booth to get your scavenger hunt map so you can locate the 13 clues you need to win the game and collect your prize. It’s free to participate!

This year, the Rougarou Fest is proud to have many talented musicians take the BHP Gris Gris Music Stage!  The bands scheduled to play on Saturday include Sheauxdown, Chaos of the Cosmos, The NOLA Treblemakers, Nonc Nu and Da Wild Matous, and Payton Smith. On Sunday, festivalgoers can listen to Sista Slick & the Brothas, Ruffin Ready, and the Cajun Music Preservation Society. Visit rougaroufest.org for a complete music schedule.

The food court will offer traditional Cajun selections, including gumbo, jambalaya, fish court bouillon, fried catfish, fried oyster Po-boys, fried pork skins, blackberry dumplings, beignets, and pop rouge ice cream, as well as hamburgers, hotdogs, nachos, fries, and assorted sweets. New food items being offered this year include: snowballs, white beans and rice, alligator sauce piquante, shrimp boulettes, crawfish etouffee, pulled pork Po-boys, and pulled pork nachos.

Captain Morgan is the Spirits Sponsor for this year’s Rougarou Fest and is the official rum to be served at the festival. The Captain Morgan rum cocktails to be sold at the festival include the Apple Bobber created with Captain Morgan Apple Smash and Swamp Juice made with Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum.

Because we’re trying to keep our bayous and communities clean, we are proud to offer a Recycling Center at the festival where you can use your trash to buy stuff! Just bring your bottles or cans from the festival to the Rougarou Recycling Center to collect your tickets and redeem prizes!

Watch our Parish President pardon Beignet the Nutria at 4 p.m. on the court house steps.

A costume contest will be held Saturday at 5 p.m. on the courthouse steps. Registration for the costume contest is free and will be open from 2 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Pets are welcome to participate but must be kept on a leash at all times. Each category is limited to 100 contestants on a first-come-first-served basis. Contestants are only allowed to enter one category. Categories include Pets, Most Creative, Funniest, Scariest, Movie Characters, Kids’ Costumes ages 5 and Under, Kids’ Costumes ages 6 to 12, and Best Overall. Winners receive a 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd place trophy.

The Krewe Ga Rou Halloween Parade will roll Saturday at 7 p.m., starting in the Town Hall parking lot located on the corner of Barrow Street and Tunnel Boulevard. The parade will roll up Barrow Street, turn left onto Main Street, and then travel down to Grinage Street where it will disband. Members of the Cajun Navy will be this year’s parade grand marshall.

At 9 p.m. following the parade, join us at the pumpkin lighting ceremony in the court square.

On Sunday, enjoy the Bayou-lympics inaugural games beginning at 11 a.m. in the court square. We are looking for adult teams of four (4) to sign up for our new event! Grab your best podnas and prepare for bayou-themed challenges, such as the the Cast Net Challenge, Podna Relay, Ice Chest Fishing, Pecan Toss, and more! Compete for gold, silver, and bronze metals, as well as best group costume! To sign up, email rougarou.olympics@gmail.com. Include your team name and the names of all members of the team. Participants must be at least 18 years old. Spots are limited so sign up today.

Also on Sunday, the fourth annual Nicholls Bayou Studies Symposium will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the lobby of Hancock Whitney Bank, 7910 Main St. on the festival grounds.  The event is free and open to the public. Bayou Studies research posters will be displayed with presentations beginning at 1 p.m.

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser proclaimed October 2018 the fourth annual Louisiana Folklife Month, recognizing Louisiana’s rich living traditions and the people who sustain them. Folklife Month activities showcase tradition bearers in a series of public programs throughout Louisiana that highlight overlooked cultural communities and increase appreciation of the vital role folklorists play in sustaining the state’s distinct culture.

A Louisiana Folklife Month Event honoring community legend James Sothern will be held at the Rougarou Fest on Sunday, October 21 at 3 p.m. in the Hancock Whitney Bank lobby, 7910 Main St. James M. Sothern, a community researcher and bayou cultural icon for over 40 years, is a Louisiana native who learned to play songs in Louisiana French. He was the banjo and accordion player at the La Trouvaille Restaurant from the time it opened in the 1980s to when in closed in 2003. He wrote books featuring Louisiana French and traditional Cajun recipes, but he is best known for his book, Last Island, an account of the 1856 hurricane that destroyed the resort village located on Isles Dernieres. Sothern shared his love for the Mississippi Delta as a Geology professor at Nicholls State University and as a teacher at South Terrebonne High School.

Grab your broom and witch’s hat and join us for the Rougarou Sweep at the end of the festival! On Sunday, October 21st at 5 p.m. our crew of witches will help us get the festival grounds clean. Prizes will be given for the three best decorated witch hats!

Many local hotels provide a discounted “Rougarou Rate” on the weekend of the festival. Visit rougaroufest.org/hotels-2/ to see a list of participating hotels.

RV parking is available at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center with shuttle service to the festival grounds. RV parking is $30 per day, which includes water and electrical hookups. Call 985-850-4657 to make your reservations.

Good Earth Transit will provide festival shuttle service from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, October 20 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 21.  Shuttle Stops include the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center main entrance, the Courtyard Marriott bus stop and the Ellender Parking Lot on Park Avenue across Bayou Terrebonne from People’s Drugs.

There are multiple street closures during the Rougarou Fest weekend.  The following streets are closed from 5 p.m. Friday, October 19, 2018 to 7 a.m. Monday, October 22, 2018:

• Belanger St. (from Grinage Street to Barrow Street)
• Church St. (from School Street to Main Street)
• Goode St. (from School Street to Main Street)
• Roussell St. (from School Street to Main Street)
• Right lane of Main Street (from Ginage St. to Roussell St.)

The following streets are closed to accommodate the Krewe Ga Rou Parade from 5:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, October 20, 2018:

• Grinage St. (from Main St. to Verret St.)
• School St. (from Lafayette St. to Church St.)
• Main St (Lafayette to Barrow Street)
• Barrow St (Park Ave to Bond Street)
• Church St. from Main St. to Park Ave. 

In addition to street closures, the west half of the public parking lot located at 7874 Park Ave (old Ellender lot) will be closed to the public from 5 p.m. Friday, October 19, 2018 until Monday, October 22, 2018 at 7 a.m.